There’s an odd comfort to be found in reading music blogs, where the consensus of opinion roughly matches your own tastes. The agreement about which bands are definitely in and which are out hardly needs to be acknowledged and so a site like The Corner ends up with everyone in rough agreement that the Mint Chicks were great and the ex-band-members get a fair hearing for their new projects. Meanwhile, there are other acts that seem pre-destined for a curt two-line takedown or a gruesomely meticulous dissection that cares little for what the artist was actually trying to achieve with their music. In order to turn things around a little, The Corner has asked its writers to each mount a defence of an act that they believe would naturally be shunned by a blog like this one. Even if you don’t agree with them, let’s hope you admire their foolish candour …

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A hell of a lot of people in New Zealand seem to like Fat Freddy’s Drop (FFD).

This is why the band can now charge $80 for their shows and why their first album sold over 135,000 units despite being released through an independent distributor. However, I sometimes get the feeling that although FFD fans are everywhere, I don’t actually seem to hang out with any of them. In fact, the only times I hear them mentioned is when people are making jokes at their expense. People complain about them being “barbeque reggae” or try to convince me that their trombone player isn’t very good. Yet I have a soft spot for the group and feel like the cursory arguments that are used to dismiss them, often don’t match up to reality when you examine them. So let me respond directly to some of these points and if I end up constructing a straw man to argue against then I’m sure you’ll let me know in the comments section…

“FFD is lightweight BBQ reggae. It’s nothing like the real stuff from Jamaica.”

There are a number of reasons why this misses the mark for me. Firstly, their music clearly isn’t trying to be straightforward reggae at all. All the critics seem to hear is the off-beat stabs of guitar and they don’t notice all the dub trickery that is going on in the background. Even the singing leans more towards R&B and soul than it does from a traditional rasta-accented reggae vocal. The horns might have some elements of reggae, but they soon turn to jazz whenever the chance opens up. Perhaps on this count, FFD are actually being judged more on the music of the bands that emerged alongside them (or in their wake). Black Seeds and Katchafire seem to fit the BBQ reggae tag a lot more to my ears (whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing, we can leave aside until someone is brave enough to stand up for one of those groups). But no, I don’t agree that FFD are just lightweight BBQ reggae. Their music draws from reggae music – sure – but there’s a lot more to it than that and it would much less interesting if they were just trying to re-enact some recording of Prince Buster from the 60s.

“But dub and jazz are terrible music genres, so I hate them anyway!”

Terrible things happened to certain types of music during the 80s and you can’t just toss out the whole genre as a result. In the 50s, jazz was the indie music of its day and its rebellious spirit was evident far before rock’n’roll came on the scene. It’s not fair to just point to Kenny G or whatever lame band you’ve seen playing in some swanky bar on High St and say that jazz sucks. Reggae also had its own moment of being cutting edge (in the 60s and 70s) and the whole genre can’t be written off just because UB40 and Simply Red came along to ruin things for everyone. I suppose dub music might sound a tad dull if you’ve never been a weed smoker, but it pays to remember that we wouldn’t have Massive Attack or Tricky if it wasn’t for the innovators who created Dub in the 70s. Anyway, the Mad Professor is playing Womad this year, so if you wanna complain about dub then go tell him about it.

“FFD make music that’s too repetitive and boring.”

Well, that’s because it’s made for dancing or listening to at a party. Have you ever heard electronica music? Those lazy slobs just play the same loop for ten minutes. If you listen carefully to a FFD then you’ll find there’s always something going on in the background (their beat producer, Mu, is always fiddling around with some dub effect or another). Their songs are generally quite long, but if you don’t like the band then this has an upside since they tend to have less tracks that are obvious singles so they’re not a band that’s all over music television and radio (so if you don’t like them, they’re easy to avoid). I will admit that the vocals in FFD do repeat quite a bit, though the singing is often used as another soloing instrument when they play live, so the words are not as important as the vibe that the singer is putting across by repeating them in different ways.

“Ugh, I hate solos. The more you write, the bigger you dig your own grave here.”

Yeah, I’m not so hot on solos myself. However, when FFD play live, the focus is on keeping the groove going for an extended period, so that people can dance along to it and the solos that the instruments play are just a way to keep this interesting (since all the tricks of the studio aren’t at their fingertips). Having these sections in their songs also allows them to change the mood of each song to the vibe they are getting from the audience. Nonetheless if you listen to the actual hooks of FFD songs then you’ll find that they’re pretty sharp (and I noticed that a few people suddenly found their music more digestible once it was placed inside a hip hop track.

“Oh god. I can’t believe you said ‘vibe’ in both of your last two replies. I think you’ve pretty much ruined any chance you had of convincing me. Though before we finish, I want you to at least admit that their trombone player is totally average.”

Not gonna happen, sorry! I did a few months of playing trombone for a band at one point and I was fucking lame at it (even though it was just a valve-trombone). Joe Lindsay from FFD is a thousand times better than me and he even does some hilariously-shameless dancing along with it. If he played smooth, incredibly complicated jazz solos then it would be way more boring. Plus he features in a bunch of other bands (e.g., The Shogun Orchestra, Scribes of Ra, etc) and also has his own outfit The Yoots, so if all you trombone players out there think you can do a better job then ask yourself – why the hell does everyone keep playing with him instead of you?

“I still hate them.”

Well, I still like them, so I guess we’re even.

The Dirty Three, who play a one-off show in Auckland on March 14, are about to release their latest record Toward The Low Sun. Fortunately for us we have a full stream of the album via NPR. Listen here.

Great Sounds Great; Bad Sounds Bad is a column which sees a panel of writers for The Corner review a range of local singles and grade them out of 10. Check out the song below, read through their opinions and let us know in the comments section your own thoughts and what you’d like us to review next time around.

[YouTube / iTunes]

[Grade: 5.8]

Luke Jacobs: Any song called ‘My Baby’ had better demonstrate that it is the best song about being someone’s baby pretty damn fast or else the possibility of it tanking are very high. From that disclaimer I think it is safe to assume that ‘My Baby’ is a bit of a lame duck. Instrumentation from Garageband, vocal harmonies I hear in songs written for ads and lyrics that a 14 year old would find embarrassing are the hallmarks of this generic number. I don’t think the world needs another song ever written about the titular baby in ‘My Baby’ but I know that we will probably hear it in the next five minutes. I don’t expect gold from Pieter T but I would love some honesty and a bit of risk. The business is tough and standing out from the crowd is difficult, Pieter your looks will only last so long, so take a chance do something real because this dross is going nowhere. [4]

Leiana Heather: The first time I heard ‘My Baby’ I felt creeped out and beyond embarrassed to be listening to a grown man grovelling for a second chance while coming off as a total stalker. STACY ALERT, right? Since then, I’ve heard it every morning on Mai FM which could be in part to do with Pieter T and Mai FM’s own K-Lee being in a relationship but probably not. I have tried to ignore the fact that I now know all the lyrics and sing along every time it plays. I’ve even tried to ignore the insanely slouchy beanie that Pieter T wears at the back of his head but there’s no denying, this track has embedded itself in my life and it’s here to stay. [5]

Dan Taipua: Whoa, half a million views at the last count. It might be hard to hear why, but it’s not hard to see why: Pieter T is a total babe. He’s got that Good Boy swag – just imagine your mum’s eyes lighting up when you bring him home for lunch in his Barkers peacoat and Sonny Bill beanie (♥_♥). That image bears itself out on the track too, with its plinky R n’ Twee piano and doo wop bass line. He’s like a pacific Sean Kingston, great combo. [9]

Matthew Plunkett: I could imagine this being the sad soundtrack that accompanies teen break ups in the dancehalls and bedrooms of New Zealand – tears rolling down ruddy crags while a hiccupping voice tries to sing the chorus. Something that you belted out at the disco when you were stupid and happy – not really paying attention to the lyrics – but then once that awful moment happens, it becomes a bitter reminder that makes your whole body sag and wail. It has a sweet simplicity that is charming and wistful. The auto tune just makes me more curious to hear the vocal unadorned but I appreciate the fact that it makes me think about being thirteen. [6]

Nicky Andrews: The vocal gymnastics are unimpressive, and the impression I get is that Pieter T isn’t really too bothered that his baby don’t call no more. The video tries to make up for an uninspired performance with a gritty, urban location, but it just doesn’t work. The only point at which I think there may be a connection with the audience is the 0:15 mark – womp womp. [4]

Stephen Clover: It’s simple and nice and I almost feel like this would be perfect and great if it wasn’t for that little sample loop thing which sounds like an autotuned harmonica ruining the choruses and aggravating me. A lot. Also not a fan of the spoken part in the middle-eight. But whatever; it’s ostensibly had already more than 500,000 YT views in only six or seven weeks since mid December which sez that the kid is going OFF and who the fuck cares what I think. [7]

‘Rella’ is the first single from Odd Future’s upcoming group album The OF Tape Vol. 2, due out next month and features Hodgy Beats, Domo Genesis, Tyler, The Creator and production from Left Brain.

‘Strangers Are Strange’ was directed by Sam Kristofski and comes from UMO’s debut album released locally through Seeing Records, and available to buy here.

With horns courtesy of Isaac Aesili, ‘Yellow Snot Funk’ is the first taste of Homebrew’s forthcoming double album, hopefully dropping sooner than later. The video below was directed by Askew. Happy Brewsday!

Rocksmith recently spent a day with Kendrick Lamar who spoke about his recording process and working with producers THC and Hit-Boy.

]]> http://thecorner.co.nz/2012/02/21/watch-a-day-with-kendrick-lamar/feed/ 0 http://thecorner.co.nz/2012/02/21/watch-princess-chelsea-yulia/ http://thecorner.co.nz/2012/02/21/watch-princess-chelsea-yulia/#comments Mon, 20 Feb 2012 19:45:32 +0000 Hussein Moses http://thecorner.co.nz/?p=19941

With Princess Chelsea’s last video sitting at 1.4 million views and still going, we have a new clip in the form of ‘Yulia’.

Matthew McAuley has finally released his new solo EP All This Was Trees under the name Blue Mt. Lumber. Take a listen below and pay want you want for it over at Bandcamp.

This year’s 95bFM Summer Series will be held on March 10 at Silo Park and the lineup has just been announced. Wilberforces, The Golden Awesome, Street Chant, Princess Chelsea, The Checks and Die! Die! Die! will play the event which will also be broadcast on bFM from 12pm. Expect the set times to be announced early next month.

The 95bFM Summer Series
Saturday, March 10th, 12pm-6pm
Silo Park, Wynyard Quarter
FREE